NASCAR: Gordon avoids wrecks, ends 66-race drought

Monday

AVONDALE, Ariz. - Just before peeling off what he called a lame burnout near the finish line, Jeff Gordon screamed into his radio, the emotion pouring out with his voice.

AVONDALE, Ariz. - Just before peeling off what he called a lame burnout near the finish line, Jeff Gordon screamed into his radio, the emotion pouring out with his voice.

"We just beat Kyle Busch!" he yelled.

Gordon did much more than that. He was headed back to victory circle, the longest winless streak of his career finally in the rearview mirror.

Overcoming a slew of potentially disastrous incidents, Gordon passed Kyle Busch with eight laps left and stretched his lead from there, ending his winless streak at 66 races yesterday at Phoenix International Raceway.

"It feels so amazing. I can't tell you how amazing this feels," Gordon said. "It's been a long time, I know, and I'm going to savor this one so much."

Gordon, a four-time Sprint Cup champion, was mired in a drought that seemed inexplicable for one of NASCAR's most successful and popular drivers. Even in ending it, it wasn't easy.

Coming off a disappointing Daytona 500, Gordon struggled in qualifying and started 20th. Early in the race, he was knocked into the wall by Carl Edwards and later had to avoid a massive wreck that led to a 14-minute red flag. He also had to pull behind another car to shake loose a piece of debris from his grill and fight his way back to the front after a long pit stop late in the race.

Gordon still managed to lead a race-high 138 laps and was able to pull alongside then bump Busch out of the way to win for the first time since April 2009 at Texas. It was his 83rd career victory, tying him with Cale Yarborough for fifth on the all-time list.

"He was on a mission today, that's for sure," said Busch, who held on for second to fall just short of winning all three NASCAR races in the same weekend for the second time in his career.

"When Jeff Gordon has a good car and he's got the opportunity to beat you, he's going to beat you, there's no doubt about that. He's my hero and I've always watched him and what he's been able to accomplish over the years, so it's no surprise that he beat us."

Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Ryan Newman rounded out the top five in a 312-lap race around the mile oval, the last on the current surface.

The quirky old track will undergo a $10 million repaving and reconfiguration project before the fall race.

A big storm came through overnight, washing away all the rubber that had built up on the track the previous two days. That meant more grip for the tires and more speed.

And it seemed the extra speed was hard to handle, leading to numerous early cautions, including one that took out Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne.

After leading several laps early, Edwards' car got sent to the infield grass around lap 60 when Busch's car got loose and hit him on the right side.

Edwards tried to keep going, but he was unable to turn, slamming into Gordon and sending both of them into the wall. He returned to the track later and finished 28th.

A few laps later, the big wreck hit.

It started with Matt Kenseth bumping Brian Vickers coming out of turn two. Vickers tried to correct his slide, got loose and started a chain-reaction wreck that involved 13 cars and brought out the red flag.

Once officials cleared the track, the drivers were treated to a series of long runs.